For some reason this chapter fought back like a rabid bear. It's one of those filler chapters that doesn't have a lot of action but without it the story would have a gap. I admit, those aren't my strong point. But, oh well - onward!

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Chapter 11: The Journey

Astrid's eyes fluttered open as voices drifted.

"No, no, I'll go too."

"Are you sure? It wouldn't take but an hour's time to return to Berk."

"I'm sure. She could use my help."

"As you wish, Master Hiccup."

Hiccup? Astrid pushed herself into a sitting position. Warmth flooded through her veins. Hiccup was alive. She should send word back to Berk but she wasn't sure how. Terror mail seemed the most practical but the odds of running into a pack of those on open water were low.

Her limbs were tired and still felt asleep as she pushed herself to the stairs. The wind had picked up. The ship was moving briskly. The water sloshed against it. It was irritatingly difficult but she made it to the top of the stairs. The sails were taught and concave with the constant wind.

Hiccup was standing near the now with his eyes locked on the horizon. The wind blew his hair every which way and in the sunlight he looked amazing. His shoulders were straight and his head was high. It struck her as the way a chief would stand. Proud and sure, ready to carry the weight of world.

"Good morning," Hiccup said as he saw her. He smiled and met her halfway. He reached for her elbows and kissed her temple.

"Hm." Astrid smiled. "How long has it been?"

"Not much more than an hour." Hiccup said. There was a shift in his voice, deeper, with a smooth rustic quality. Astrid place a hand on his chest. It must from the constant pain he felt.

"Are you feeling better?" Astrid asked. She could feel his hearting beating under her palm.

"Yeah, but it still hurts." Hiccup nodded. He kept his shoulders and chest still when he moved. He held his shoulders out, and she wouldn't admit it to him, but it made him look a little broader.

"So you're coming with me?" Astrid asked.

"Yes. You could use all the help you can get." Hiccup nodded. He reached up and placed his hand over hers. "We can fix this together, you and me, go to this island and stop this madness from spreading."

She wanted to tell him that he needed to go back to Berk. But she couldn't form the words. It would be dangerous, she knew, but she couldn't bring herself to push him away. She wanted to pull him close and never let him go.

"Okay. But we should try and get word back to your dad. He still thinks you're dead. He'll be overjoyed." Astrid said.

Hiccup nodded. "Right."

"We'll have to keep an eye out for Terrors. Wild ones might not come to us but we'll have to give it a shot." Astrid said, wandering over the deck.

Astrid felt Hiccup's hand brush against her back. She turned around to face him. He was looking at her with a look that melted her. How could she have lived without him? The back of his fingers gently brushed along her cheek. She closed her eyes to savoring his touch.

"Astrid? Are you tired?"

For the moment he sounded like someone else. She opened her eyes to stare into his and those feelings were pushed aside. Who else could it have been? It was Hiccup. He was right here, alive and mostly well, refusing to let her go into danger alone.

"Unfortunately, a little." Astrid sighed. Was this how their journey would go? Hiccup healing a rib and her sleeping?

Hiccup ushered her to the stairs. He kept his body as still as he could as he walked. Before she descended the stairs Hiccup lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her. The pull of sleep was growing stronger and stronger. Hiccup gripped her arms to keep her steady.

She climbed down the stairs, one at a time, and stumbled back into her corner. She collapsed onto the furs and rug and the last sound she heard was Hiccup's uneven footsteps on the deck above.

The spirit world remained a constant blur. The temple, houses, memories all blended together in a fury of darkness. Spirits were in a stupor. They wailed and cried and moaned but none seemed any more threatening than a flopping fish. The ground shifted and changed and no one placed stayed much longer than a few minutes. Or it could have been hours. It was hard to tell.

Astrid fought to wake up. Thunder shook the seas and lightning flashed and lit the lower deck in a harsh otherworldly light. Her body was stiff and she her muscles groaned as she stretched. The bed beside her was warm. Hiccup was sleeping next to her. His arm lay above her head and his chest rose and fell with even breaths.

The sea was turbulent but despite that she closed her eyes to return to sleep. A scruff finger ran along cheek and she reopened them to see Hiccup's arm reaching across his body to hers. In the bright lightning illumination his green eyes were darker. His skin was shallow and pale. He looked sick, but she was sure he wasn't sleeping well with all the motion. She'd never had a broken rib and didn't know how it hurt.

Yes, that was the reason.

It was in Hiccup's arms that she woke in the morning. The night's storm had passed and left the seas calm. Hiccup ruffled. He brought a hand to her and stroked her abdomen with his hand. His hair was a mess but she was sure that hers was too.

"Good morning," Astrid whispered. Her voice was dry from sleep, raspy from misuse. Hiccup reflected her smile and leaned in to kiss her.

They met Johan on the upper deck. There was nothing but smooth sea in every direction. The breeze was strong enough to push them along, like it knew where they needed to go.

"It's weird to be so close to the water." Astrid said as she leaned over the railing. She stuck her hand over the water. It was like she could just reach out and touch it.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked from her side.

"I'm so used to riding Stormfly." Astrid said, smiling at him. "From way up there boats are so small and slow. It's just…different, taking the old fashioned way."

"Right." Hiccup nodded. He stepped closer. "You alright?"

"Hm?" Astrid turned to him. He was looking at her with concern. He placed a hand on her cheek and at once she felt the pulling of darkness. It came so fast that she didn't have the time to respond. The world went black.

Astrid woke as suddenly as she'd crashed into the spirit world. It had gone by in such a rush of fog, screams, and pale faces. It was more like a nightmare, like she was watching from another body, surreal and blurred. She rubbed her face and inhaled deeply. She felt heavy and limp. She needed to move.

She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up onto her hands and needs. Slowly, feeling was coming back. By the time she was at the top of the stairs her limbs were returning to normal. She climbed the stairs and the sun-warmed sea air was refreshing. She stretched her arms to the sky. Everything hurt and ached.

Johan and Hiccup were talking. At the sight of her their conversation at ended. Astrid meandered over to them and leaned against a barrel of trade.

"You still haven't told me how you faked your death." Astrid nudged his shoulder. His rib must be doing much better. He didn't even flinch.

Hiccup smiled proudly and leaned beside her. She waited for his story and even Johan listened in.

"Well, when the fight started, me and…my dad, were talking to Dagur. I flew away and in a freak accident I landed on a ship and didn't have time to get back into the air when it was blown apart. I swam to the closest ship." Hiccup retold, with a little more flare than his stories generally contained. "I rolled with the situation and used my fake death to sneak onto the Berserker ships to find out what was happening."

"Did you find anything?" Astrid asked. "When we went through, it as like the soldiers were frozen in place. It…it was weird."

"That's the crazy part." Hiccup said. "It was…it was some kind of orb thing that Dagur had. I don't know where he got it. He said it called the souls from the other side to inhabit the armor. He went on and on about how the veil was thinned enough."

"Where could Dagur have gotten such a thing?" Johan shuttered.

"I don't know." Hiccup shrugged. "But once the rift is closed all this traffic will stop. Everything will be back to normal."

"Yeah," Astrid nodded. Everything would be back to normal. She felt Hiccup's hand on her shoulder and without meaning to she laid her head into her hands. She briefly saw Hiccup's other hand reach around to stop her from falling onto the deck.

Astrid woke up in her corner with a fur up to her chin. Hiccup's arm was draped around her waist. He was laying on his side and held her close. Her breath splattered the back of her neck.

How long had they been on Johan's ship? Her stomach growled. How long had it been since she'd eaten? Time was moving so sporadically that she couldn't keep track. She had moved so suddenly between world that she had no idea. The fur held their heat between them and she could feel his heartbeat against her back. It was more than enough to lull her back to sleep.

The spirit world was much less inviting. Through the blurs and fog a woman's face kept reappearing. Every time she was screaming, her pale hands reaching out, her eyes bulging at her. She never came closer than a stone's throw. She was trying to crawl through the fog but it pushed her away.

Astrid woke, nestled into Hiccup's side. When she stirred so did he. His hand brushed her hairline and pushed hair out of her face.

"How long has it been?"

"Johan says we'll be there in about a day." Hiccup whispered. He trailed his finger down her face, her neck, her shoulder, and settled it on her waist.

"Hiccup, when the veil is close, all the souls on this side will be trapped here." Astrid said. How she knew, she didn't know, it might have been the woman from the spirit world.

"Yeah?"

"What's going to happen to them? Are we going to search them out and return them home?"

"Maybe. But, what if they want to stay here?"

"I don't know."

"Don't worry about it, Astrid. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Together, okay? After we close it."

"Yeah."

It was like this that the journey passed. Astrid passed between the living world and the spirit world with little or no warning. The hours blended together into blurs of darkness, water, a pale woman's screams, and the exotic fabric. The constant go-between was leaving her exhausted and delirious, but Hiccup was there eager to give her the comfort she needed. His chest was a warm sanctuary and his beating heart a soothing sound.

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Thanks for the reviews, team! I really appreciate it - it means a lot to me that you enjoy this story. I've been trying to break into publish and I'm fallen into a kind of rejection-funk.

Also - secret side note - There's a little hidden scene in this chapter that I'm planning on adding later, to my M rated dabble collection, for obvious reasons (wink wink).